De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter

While approaching Bintuni Airport, the crew encountered poor weather conditions when the aircraft struck a mountain located few km from the airfield. All 22 occupants were killed.

The twin engine aircraft was on its way from Addis Ababa to a refugee camp in Funyido on a humanitarian mission (food program in Ethiopia). About an hour and thirty minutes into the flight, the aircraft entered an area of poor weather conditions over mountainous terrain. While cruising at an altitude of 3,600 feet, it struck the slope of a mountain located about 30 km southeast from Gambela. As the aircraft failed to arrive at destination, SAR operations were initiated but the wreckage was found a week later in an isolated area. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all 16 occupants were killed, among them Thomas Mickey Leland, US Secretary of State.

On final approach to Porgera Airfield, the twin engine airplane struck trees and crashed in a dense wooded area. Both pilots and a passenger were killed while 19 other occupants were injured.

The crew departed Kiunga on a cargo flight to a remote area of the Western Province. En route, weather conditions deteriorated when the aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances in the region of the Fly River. Both pilots were killed.

While descending to Tame-Gustavo Vargas Santos Airport in IMC conditions, the crew failed to realize his altitude was too low when the aircraft struck a mountain located few km from Tame. Six passengers were killed while 16 other occupants were injured.

While taking off from a gravel airstrip at Colville Lake, the twin engine aircraft went out of control, veered off runway and collided with an airport building. All five occupants were rescued and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The twin engine aircraft departed Hamada al Hamra Airport at 0705LT bound for Tripoli carrying two pilots and 12 employees of the Arabian Gulf Oil Company and Halliburton Company. Few minutes after takeoff, the crew was instructed to return because military activity en route was ongoing. Unfortunately, the visibility at Hamada al Hamra Airport dropped due to fog. Following a short holding circuit, the crew attempted to land when, on short final, the aircraft struck successively a concrete pipeline bridge and a wooden electrical pylon then crashed few hundred meters short of runway, bursting into flames. The aircraft was destroyed and all 14 occupants were killed.

Crashed on takeoff. There were no casualties.

This was the first flight after a maintenance inspection. The flaps were left full down after a post-inspection by company mechanics, before the flight. Witnesses stated the flaps were down when the aircraft taxied to takeoff on runway 19L. Witnesses stated the aircraft climbed steeply after it lifted off with a pitch attitude up to 60°. According to witnesses, the aircraft climbed to 200 to 500 feet agl, before it stalled and descended nose down in a left turn. The aircraft crashed about 300 ft left of and 2000 ft down the rwy. Examination of the aircraft revealed the flaps were full down. The scroll type checklist was positioned at the beginning of the takeoff check. The flight manual recommends a 10 degree flap setting for takeoff and prohibits flap full down takeoff. Review of previous DHC-6 accidents involving flap full down resulted in a steep takeoff climb and excessive pitch attitude followed by a stall. The position of the control lock suggests it may have been in the locked position during the takeoff. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.

The DHC-6 Twin Otter, C-GKBM, was under contract to the U.S. Forest Service. It was to be repositioned to John Day, OR to pick up passengers. At 11:35 PDT, the pilot checked in with John Day Dispatch and transmitted his expected time of arrival would be 12:15 PDT. About 11:40 the aircraft contacted three trees with the right wing at the 5,000-foot level of Battle Creek Mountain. This impact separated the wing into three sections before the aircraft "exited" over the mountain edge. The final impact site was on this ridgeline with the aircraft coming to final rest in a steep canyon to the east. There was a high mountain further east on the flight path that also needed to be crossed before a descent to John Day, Oregon could be commenced. The pilot's medical records indicated the he had been having medical problems, some of which he did not want brought to the attention of the Medical Doctor (MD) designated by the FAA to do flight physicals. In addition, he did not tell his supervisor that he was having medical problems. It was noted that he had complaints of chronic muscular neck pains, back problems, falling asleep, allergy problems, numbness in the top of his feet, feeling tired and run down, and pain in his legs. The flight track showed a gradual descent of about 400 feet per minute. He was off course to the right for about five minutes before impacting with trees. This flight tract strongly supported a very high probability of sleep-induced unconsciousness.